


Reaching You

by HappilyToasting



Category: SHINee
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 13:08:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29369040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HappilyToasting/pseuds/HappilyToasting
Summary: There's always a chance. But will they take it?Otherwise known as, Onew and Minho have some things to work out.Cross-posted on AFF.
Relationships: Choi Minho/Lee Jinki | Onew
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19





	Reaching You

**Author's Note:**

> NOTE: Originally posted on AFF in June of 2020 under my AFF account _____bruh. 
> 
> This is my first story, Onho being the reason I even started writing fanfic. This is just a random onewxminho one shot because there are like no new fanfics for this ship :')
> 
> I seriously can't believe there isn't an Onho tag on AO3... time to fix that :D 
> 
> The time frame is set around early 2013, which is like Misconceptions of Me/You/Us era, and the lyrics are from SHINee's beautiful song, _Selene 6.23_! It's written by the amazing Jonghyun, and it's so amazing. Please take the chance to listen to it if you have time!  
> Enjoy! I hope you comment too :) 

###  Can I Reach You? 

Lee Jinki. More commonly known as SHINee's tofu leader, Onew. How most people would describe him? Clumsy, soft and gentle, and the man with a beautiful smile. His voice, which was arguably his key ticket into the group, branded him as SHINee's vocal identity, along with his fellow main vocalist, Kim Jonghyun (But honestly, at this point, everyone in SHINee is a vocalist). 

Although one would think that Onew was quite loud and friendly based on various appearances in variety shows, in real life, the boy was mostly quiet and usually basked in the opportunity to be alone. Don't get him wrong, it's not that Onew didn't enjoy the company of other people. It's just that Lee Jinki, not the persona "Onew" that the company got him to adopt, was a very selfless person who didn't go around looking for attention. 

All of these things, Minho knew well. The boy (or should he say the man?) didn't like being bothered. In fact, Minho was slightly irked by his hyung's constant rejections to outings and offers to go to the movies. He didn't even crack after Minho offered to get chicken after watching a movie. 

Minho had known him for so long, yet his Jinki hyung was a mystery. Sure, he knew _Onew_. The mischievous and kind leader who would speak up a lot during variety shows to help carry the team, back when the SHINee members were too shy to interact with the variety show hosts, and definitely too timid to crack some jokes. 

Minho had always been grateful for the presence of the older man in his life. Key would jokingly call their leader by his "old man" nickname, but this was something Jinki took in stride. After all, Jinki _was_ getting older, but he was quite smart.

Now, brings Minho to his current dilemma. Recently, he had been viewing Jinki in a different light. As in, not how a younger brother should be looking at his older brother, or not how a colleague would look at his fellow group member. After all, that was their relationship, no? They were merely band mates, but tight knit enough to consider each other as a family. 

So where had it all gone wrong for Minho? 

It was honestly just a regular day of preparing for their comeback. They were all sitting in the recording studio, cracking jokes and trying not to go insane after a full day of recording. Everyone's throats were aching, and management was really cracking down on them to finish recording the rest of the songs that day. Minho wasn't as tired as the rest of them, because let's face it, he was a rapper, and by default didn't get a lot of lines. Anyway, all five of the most were just sitting around goofing off, and Jinki, as normal, was cracking all of his terrible dad jokes. 

"Where did the chicken lose it's leg? In Viet-nom!" joked Jinki.

 _How does he even come up with jokes this bad?_ Thought Minho. That didn't stop Minho from busting a lung though. 

"Old Man, be quiet! Your jokes are terrible!" whined Kibum, who was rolling his eyes, while Taemin was busy laughing and Jinki was sporting his cheeky grin. Jonghyun was busy checking his phone while practicing his vocal runs, because the vocalist was a pure perfectionist. 

The music producer then shushed them and called Jinki forward. 

"Jinki, you can totally nail this high note, you already have the feeling for it," praised the music producer who was mixing their music. Jinki thanked the man, while Jonghyun also stopped Jinki to discuss the song emotion he wanted to portray. The song was written by Jonghyun himself, and he was confident in his hyung's capability to sing it.

The song was titled _Selene 6.23_ , and Jonghyun had poured a lot of thought and emotion into writing the lyrics. 

Jinki stepped into the recording booth and put on his headphones while adjusting the volume of the instrumental playback while it flooded his ears. The SHINee members watched from outside the booth. Although they knew their hyung would do a great job, they were always anticipating hearing his voice. 

Jinki opened his mouth to sing his first part.

_Look at my eyes, I whisper alone as I look at you from far away._

The SHINee members looked on, a little curiously and pretty intrigued. Jonghyun had written the lyrics, but he was still taken aback by the timbre and emotion that his hyung had been able to summon, and this was only the first line of the song. Taemin had some stars in his eyes, and Kibum was biting his lip, while Minho felt quite attacked by the lyrics. 

Minho was known as the guy who hung out with many hyungs, and was even nicknamed the "hyung collector," for the statement bore a semblance of truth. However, what Minho noticed was that he didn't feel the same around Jinki like he did with his other hyungs. Even since debut days, Minho had subconsciously been looking at his hyung. This never escaped the eyes of Kibum, who was quite nosy and also sensitive to other people's emotions. Even now, Kibum was looking over at Minho, gauging his reaction to Jinki's singing. 

_Just smile for me once, I can endure it just by seeing your face_

There were plenty of times when they would slug through very tiring and demanding schedules, and all it would take for Minho to feel energized was to see Jinki's pure, radiant smile. After all, if Jinki, who was older than all of them, and had to pull some weight as a leader, could do it, then Minho would just have to suck up his tiredness and continue, right? At least, that's what Minho tried to convince himself that was what he was feeling after seeing his hyung's smiles. 

At this point, the vocal director had recorded the part and was busy mixing it onto the track. 

"That's perfect, Jinki! That emotion was great. Don't forget about your phrasing, though. Round out your vowels and focus on your dynamics," complimented the director. 

"Director, he's already so good! His phrasing and placement was fine, you're such a perfectionist!" Kibum rolled his eyes. The other SHINee members also nodded along, while Jinki looked a bit embarrassed, the director rolling his eyes back. 

"Kibum, to be fair, we're all perfectionists," joked Jonghyun, to which the SHINee members and the director nodded vigorously. 

"Alright, get on with it! I wanna finish up and go home! And Taemin is waiting to record afterwards," retaliated Kibum.

"Yeah, hyung, you sounded great! I wanna record soon though," said Taemin eagerly. 

"Ok, ok. Jinki, do you see your next line? We're going to skip your mini duet parts until after Taemin records his part, and then we will come back to you again," prompted the director. 

"Yes, I will prepare myself." replied Jinki. 

The instrumental started playing again, and Jinki sang his next section. 

_Even if you tease me by saying this is foolish, I can't turn this heart around._

_It seemed like I got closer_

_So I called you with a fluttering heart_

_But there's no answer, I guess I can never reach you_

"Wow, our dependable leader! As usual, you sounded amazing!" the director was clapping while praising Jinki, who always got a little shy after compliments. 

At this point, Minho was a little shell shocked. The words that his hyung had sung; it felt as if someone had exposed the secret longing and feelings he had for Jinki. Just as Minho glanced away from his hyung's adorable shy face, he caught Kibum looking at him with an amused expression. 

_Damn, he knows,_ thought Minho. He was already dreading the confrontation that was definitely going to hit him once he got home. 

"Taemin, you're up next," called the director, and Taemin was hyping himself up to start recording. As for Minho, he couldn't stop looking at Jinki, who was exiting the recording booth. 

"I'm heading to the washroom, I gotta leak!" joked Jinki. 

"Hyung, just go!" encouraged Jonghyun. "We'll call you back when we need you!" and with a nod, Jinki exited the room and headed for the bathroom. 

While Taemin was singing his lines, Key rounded on Minho. 

_Oh no, the confrontation is happening now..._ Minho miserably thought. 

"So, anything you wanted to say about that performance?" fished Kibum. "Or did Jinki-hyung do all the speaking for you?" 

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Minho vehemently denied everything. He was _not_ about to spill all of his squishy feelings about their hyung in front of Kibum. Kibum always had everyone's best intentions at heart, yet he could be very blunt and vicious a times. Minho was not liking where this was going. 

"Oh, c'mon! Your pining was cute at first, but hasn't this been going on for too long? Just tell him already!" stated a frustrated Kibum. Everyone outside of SHINee always called Minho the go-getter of the group, but he honestly thought it was Kibum. The boy's attitude was much more brash and straightforward than Minho's.

"Tell who what?" at this point, Jonghyun looked up from his phone, curious about why Kibum was nagging Minho. Not that it didn't happen everyday, but it was always fun to know about the drama going on in the group. 

"Nothing! He's talking about nothing at all!" groaned Minho. It was bad enough that Kibum had caught on. He didn't want Jonghyun hyung to know about-

"His thirst for Jinki hyung!" exclaimed Kibum. "It's so obvious! He's always looking at Jinki-hyung-" 

"Hey! I am _not_ always looking at Jinki-hyung! And, and, I'm not _thirsting_ after him! Kibum, can you keep it down?! Director-nim is right there!" Minho blurted out. He could feel his face heating up; if this was a battle, then Minho clearly knew that he was losing. And he hated to be on the losing side. 

"Ooooooh, you mean Minho's obsession with hyung? I thought they were dating already?" answered Jonghyun. 

"Da-dating?!? And I am _not_ obsessed with hyung!" spluttered Minho, who was looking considerably red, either from being exposed or from Jonghyun's implication that he was dating Jinki; probably both which had turned him into a living tomato. It sure was an amusing sight to see the usually calm and collected idol red in the face (except from those idol sports championships, but this time Minho's reddening appearance was clearly due to another matter altogether). 

"Finally! _Someone_ who agrees with me! Minho needs to grow a pair and ask him out already! Jinki-hyung is not getting any younger!" exclaimed a frustrated Kibum. 

"Are you insane?! He's our _leader_! He's our _hyung_! I can't just ask him to be my boyfriend, _and_ he's a guy... Do you see how wrong this is?" Minho tried reasoning desperately. Couldn't his group members see how any relationship (not that Jinki-hyung even liked him in the first place) was doomed to happen? In _this_ conservative society known as South Korea?! Minho had a better chance of convincing his father to join the national soccer team then date Jinki!

"Minho-ah, there's nothing wrong with liking a guy. So what, he's our hyung? I bet he likes you too, I mean, you guys are always glancing and smiling at each other," reassured Jonghyun, while Kibum nodded very determinedly. Jonghyun was definitely an LGBTQ+ activist, and he wasn't about to let Minho throw away a potential relationship with Jinki over a narrow lens of sexuality. 

Honestly, it got tiring to see Minho's wide smile every time Jinki so much as glanced at him, only for that commercial-ready smile to fall away when Jinki fixed his attention on something else, or just lost his thought in general (as he often did). If anyone could take care of Jinki, Jonghyun had decided that it would be Minho. Because Jinki definitely needed someone around just in case he randomly slipped on something. Who better than the athletic, tall, ( _why was he so damn tall anyway?_ Jonghyun grumbled) handsome, gentle Choi Minho who sincerely liked their leader? 

"Listen to Jjong! Hey, haven't you been crushing on him since-" 

"Oh? Minho likes someone?" Jinki inquired as he stepped back into the room with the grace of an elephant. Immediately, Kibum, Jonghyun and Minho froze and looked up, three pairs of eyes looking like startled deer. Jinki felt reminded of a nature documentary about deer being hunted. He didn't mean to seem like a predator! 

"He's kidding, hyung. He's just teasing me about the drama I did with that one actress," Minho nervously answered. He was currently calling on every single actor cell in his body to pull off the pure figure of nonchalance, but guessing by Kibum's shaking shoulders and Jonghyun's raising eyebrows, he was failing miserably. 

"Oh," Jinki answered. Key looked curiously at Jinki. _Is that relief on Jinki's face?_ thought Kibum. Kibum smugly leaned back onto the couch, wearing a very creepy grin. 

"Yeah, that's all," Minho said, abruptly ending the conversation. He wasn't about to dig a deeper hole for himself, especially now that Jinki was back in the room. Meanwhile, Jonghyun was amused by Minho being flustered. Minho was the guy who could usually fluster so many people and cause the fainting of teenage girls across the country, but just a couple of words from Jinki and the guy was a mess. _Ha, take that you giraffe!_ Jonghyun snickered in his mind. 

"Hyung, you sounded so good!" praised Minho, suddenly introducing a new topic of conversation. Kibum and Jonghyun just sat back, deciding to observe. SHINee internal group drama was better than what usually played in the movies. _Maybe that's why Jinki never goes to the movies,_ Kibum thought. _Our dorm is already enough drama as it is, even without me smacking Minho upside the head._

As Kibum mused through his thoughts, the interesting pair were having a somewhat stilted conversation.

"Oh, thanks, Minho-goon." replied Jinki, who suddenly looked flustered. "I just sang like I normally do..." 

"Hyung, you were so full of emotion though! You had to be thinking of something," commented Kibum. _C'mon, Jinki! I'll drag this out of you,_ Kibum thought as he rubbed his hands together in his head.

"Oh, nothing much" replied Jinki, while he snuck a glance at Minho. 

_Bingo,_ thought Kibum and Jonghyun, while Minho was totally oblivious that his beloved hyung was looking at him. 

_If I wanted to watch a rom-com then I would've done it. This is so sweet it's giving me goosebumps,_ thought Kibum. 

"Great work, Taemin! You've improved your singing abilities so much! At this rate, you're going to end up debuting as a soloist!" exclaimed the director, as Taemin was finishing up his part. 

"Thank you, director-nim! I worked on my vocal technique with Jonghyun-hyung and Jinki-hyung!" smiled Taemin. The maknae's ever radiant smile and hardworking personality were extremely endearing to the group members and everyone who worked with SHINee. 

"Ok, Jinki, get back in here and finish up so your group can go home! Just these last lines," stated the director, who was also antsy to get home. After all, this was the last song they needed to record and only Jinki had a few lines left to record. 

"You guys should head home, it's just me anyway," announced Jinki, the ever dependable leader. It was something Minho liked about the boy. He always made sure to take care of the members in subtle ways, smiling off every inconvenience. 

"No, hyung, we can just wait for you to finish-" Taemin was saying, until Kibum cut him off. 

"Me, Jonghyun and Taemin are actually going to head back now. Minho, stay with hyung, ok?" Kibum sweetly suggesting while tugging Jonghyun and Taemin with him. Taemin looked very confused, until Kibum must've whispered something in his ear, which got Taemin smugly grinning. 

"What? Why can't you guys stay?" Minho panicked. This had to be the most obvious set up by Kibum, and there was no way Minho was getting out of this, and everyone (except Jinki who didn't know what was going down) knew it. 

"Minho-goon, it's ok, you can head home to the dorm if you'd like. I'll be done anyway, no need to wait for me." Jinki assured.   
_There's no way I can just go home now, hyung..._ Minho thought. _Like I could ever voluntarily leave you alone..._

"No, no, hyung, it's fine, I'll just stay with you anyway. I think Kibum promised to treat them to dinner, so I'll stay with you." Realizing there was no way he was about to leave, Minho in that split second decided that he might as well take this chance. After all, he barely gets time alone with his hyung. Kibum may be sneaky, but the guy sure was supportive, something Minho grudgingly acknowledged. Looked like the years of forced-eventually-turned-genuine friendship between Kibum and him was good for something. 

"But-" 

"Jinki-hyung, you heard Minho, just finish up quickly. Byeeeeeee!" Kibum all but screamed, leaving the studio with Jonghyun and Taemin in tow, but not before Jonghyun wiggled his eyebrows at Minho, the maknae started giggling, and Key winked in Jinki's direction. 

_They're being so obvious,_ grumbled Minho. 

_What was that wink for > _ Jinki pondered curiously. Kibum sure was a sly fox when it came to some things, and Jinki couldn't help but feel alarmed all of a sudden.

"Onew, are you coming in?" reminded the director, shaking Jinki out of his thoughts.

"Ah! Sorry, I'm coming!" squeaked Jinki. "Sorry for making you wait, Minho..." Jinki mumbled. 

"Hyung, I don't mind, ok? So go sing your heart out!" Minho said, while gently smiling down at Jinki. Jinki blushed while hurrying into the studio. 

_Does he even realize how attractive he is?_ Thought Jinki. _I think I have more dignity than a teenage fan to faint though..._

Although Jinki didn't want Minho to know, he was secretly thinking about the boy while singing his lines. To him, Minho had always been a little special. The boy was handsome, and so thoughtful of him, that Jinki thought the younger boy's personality far outshone his looks (which was basically impossible, what with Minho looking like a model, yet Jinki thought it was true). 

Jinki thought back to all the times when Minho would invite him out to eat, to watch a movie, or just to go out. In truth, Jinki was just afraid. 

He was _so_ afraid of crossing boundaries. Minho shouldn't have been more than just a group member, but Jinki was already in over his head for the softhearted rapper. 

As Jinki poured out all his thoughts into his singing, Minho on the other side of the recording glass was once again mesmerized by him. To him, Jinki was untouchable. Jinki had his walls up and never really let the members know about his problems or worries. But Minho really wanted to know what was going on inside the man's head. His hyung was always smiling, but surely, that couldn't all be genuine. Minho wanted to know more about Jinki, the man who hid behind his persona Onew. And although Minho admitting to himself, much less to anyone else, he wanted Jinki, _badly_. 

"Minho? Minho? _Hello..?_ " Jinki was currently waving his hand in front of Minho's face. Minho was so deep in his own thoughts about the man in front of him that he hadn't realized Jinki had already wrapped up recording. 

"Go job to both of you today!" The director said as he started packing up. Minho and Jinki thanked the director for his hard work. However, just before the director left, he whispered in Minho's ear, 

"Don't just look at him from afar, he's right in front of you so make your move," the director said before finally shutting the door behind him. Minho turned a very bright shade of red. 

"What did director-nim say?" questioned Jinki. 

"Nothing, nothing... let's go home." answered Minho, Jinki somewhat intrigued while glancing at the fierce blush across the younger man's face.

Minho and Jinki drove back in Minho's car since Jinki had gotten a ride to the recording studio from Kibum, so he didn't have his car without him.  
They entered the dorm, feeling the exhaustion from their comeback preparations creeping into their bones.

"Hello? Anybody home?" Minho asked as he opened the door which led into the dorm. 

"I don't think they're back yet... I think Kibum mentioned some Japanese restaurant which was far away," pondered Jinki. Jonghyun alone could eat a horse if he was hungry, never mind Taemin's deceptive appetite. Knowing Kibum was treating, it had to be a hell of a restaurant, as Kibum sure was a picky eater (but to be fair, he had good taste buds). Jinki could bet that they wouldn't be home for hours. 

With that thought, and Minho thinking privately along the same lines, both of them realized they were home alone together for an undetermined amount of time. Even their manager was out, probably hanging out with the managers of Super Junior and Girl's Generation. Feeling anxious, Jinki slipped away to his room. Yeah, it was true that he liked Minho, so Jinki knew he wouldn't be able to withstand being in the same room with him like this, what with his heart that felt like it was doing jumping jacks from as little as seeing Minho's face. Jinki still had a shred of dignity and self-respect, and the (thin) walls of his room to keep Minho out were what his sanity was depending on at this moment.

Watching Jinki attempt to hole up in his room, Minho sighed. These last couple of weeks, he had repeatedly been asking Jinki to go out, and the man had been refusing him. However, Minho was really sick of this. He had been admiring Jinki for so long now. It had been literal years since debut... or maybe before debut, when Jinki, who was still Jinki, and not yet Onew; when no one even knew "Onew" would exist, had comforted Minho after a particularly harsh scolding from this rapping teacher. And, yeah, Minho realized he had been lying to himself this entire time. Fine, he would admit he had liked Jinki for way too long now. 

And maybe Jonghyun and Kibum (and maybe even Taemin) were right, Minho could admit. This had been going on for too long now, and suddenly this opportunity had been created by Kibum, so there was no way he was letting Jinki get away. Minho needed an answer, preferably favourable, so that he could finally put down his heart for good.

"Hyung! Hyung, wait-" 

"Minho? Did you need something?" Jinki was about to close his door and go to bed, and he could feel his nerves spiking even higher at the prospect of speaking face-to-face with Minho. _I need to hide before I combust_ Jinki thought, panicked. 

"There's something I need you to know... and there are some things I need to know too," Minho pushed aside Jinki's door like it was nothing and walked into Jinki's room, looking very determined. 

_That's pretty hot,_ Jinki's brain helpfully supplied. _Now is not the time to thirst over your younger bandmate! Get a grip!_ The rational side of Jinki's brain started chastising Jinki's cursed hot boy- no, _man_ radar. 

"Well, Minho-yah, you know I will help you with anything you need help with" Jinki started saying, twiddling his fingers as he tried not to fall while standing. He couldn't possibly be that clumsy. 

"Can you go out with me?" Minho blurted out. 

"What? What did you say?" Jinki was shocked. He wasn't blind to Minho's constant invites, he just didn't expect the man to be so straightforward. "We already hang out though" Jinki tried to explain. _Just play dumb,_ Jinki's brain rationalized. _You fool, you're probably interpreting it the wrong way anyway. Stop looking so shocked, alright?_ Jinki's brain reprimanded. _Of course, Minho probably meant hanging out together or something-_

"Hyung, are you acting dense, or did you really think that was what I meant?" Minho looked slightly hurt. Jinki felt his heart drop somewhere to the floor, his eyes widening even further as he took in Minho's sulking expression. _Great job,_ Jinki's head pounded, _You made the man sad. Look at those drooping frog eyes. You're so cruel._

"I don't know what you're trying to say," Jinki averted his eyes from Minho. It was way better, in his opinion, to keep up the oblivious act, because he couldn't handle the possibility of Minho meaning something very, very different. _He's definitely living up to his "Flaming charisma nickname",_ thought Jinki. Minho was literally burning holes into him, with how fierce his gaze was, even though he had looked so upset just seconds ago. It gave Jinki whiplash.

How ever, in this moment, Jinki was abandoning his "Onew" persona. Jinki was the kind of person who was terrible with confrontation, and often ran away or avoided questions. This was what Minho was anticipating, so he just kept pushing forward. _I know you very well, hyung. I'll squeeze an answer out of you even if I have to show you my heart._

"Hyung, you can stop. I _know_ you know what I've been trying to do. I thought I was being clear with all of my invitations to go out, but I guess you don't get it yet." 

"..." 

"I like you hyung. And not the way a younger guy likes his regular guy friend. _No,_ don't even try to tell me what I'm feeling is wrong, or that I'm crazy. I genuinely like you, hyung, and you're not going to believe me unless I explicitly tell you. So, I'm telling you now. You have no excuse to misunderstand." If, just a few hours ago, you had told Choi Minho he was about to drop a heart felt confession like this, he would have probably scoffed at you. But now, Minho felt his desire, his _want_ , his _love_ for Jinki bubbling over, and in this moment, he finally spoke aloud the words he had kept hidden for so long. 

After Minho's straightforward, almost factual in nature confession, Jinki was even more shocked. He wouldn't deny that he thought Minho looked at him differently, but he had thought Minho had just admired him as a hyung-like figure. Jinki definitely wasn't expecting _this._

"Minho, do you even know what you're saying?" whispered Jinki. He was desperately trying to quell the anxiety and giddiness that was starting to take up his lungs. 

"Hyung. You know, I'm not just saying this randomly. You know better than anyone that I never say what I don't honestly believe. I've liked you for a long time now." Minho looked directly into his eyes. 

"How do you feel about me?" Minho pleaded, Jinki caught in his somewhat pitiful, wholly overwhelming gaze. 

"I... I......" _How do I deal with this?!_ Jinki freaked out. He was definitely happy and overjoyed by this confession. He had never felt butterflies this intense in his life, but the words Minho were saying were so dangerous, especially for people like them who were so entrenched in the industry. And Jinki did not feel a speck of courage to accept Minho's feelings, much less tell Minho how he felt. His instinctual instinct was to protect SHINee. He couldn't be so selfish to decide to go out with Minho, even though Jinki dearly loved the younger boy. 

"Why do you keep rejecting my invites? Tell me right now if you don't like me, so I can move on. If you like me, just tell me." Minho loved Jinki, but Jinki sure could be an animal with his tail between his legs sometimes. Minho hated seeing people step on Jinki due to the man's slightly pushover-esque attitude, but Minho desparately needed to hear Jinki's thoughts. Unlike people who tended to take advantage of Jinki's kind heart, Minho wanted to know Jinki's feelings towards him, even if they weren't mutual.

"Minho..." Jinki was shaking. He knew that whatever he said, he would potentially be changing the whole dynamic between them, and even the dynamic of the group could change. It was too risky. 

"Hyung, don't try and run away from this. You _always_ run away whenever someone asks you something important. Please, if you have even the tiniest bit of respect for me, then don't leave me hanging like this. It's either you like me or you don't. It can't possibly be that hard," Minho has always been a very loyal and gentle guy, and once he made up his mind about something, he would always go and chase after it. And unfortunately (or maybe fortunately?) he set his eyes on Jinki. However, Jinki sure was feeling pressured right now.

"Minho, what does it matter if I like you or not? It shouldn't matter anyway..." Jinki looked away, finally breaking eye contact. However, Minho grasped both of Jinki's hands with his own, and before Jinki could pull away, Minho bent down and gazed into Jinki's eyes. 

"Of course it matters. I like you, I want you, and my feelings are valid, even if it took me a while to come to terms with liking you. After all, society isn't kind to people like me. But, hyung, I can't go on pretending that I don't like you like this. Most importantly, hyung, your feelings are valid too. You are entitled to feel the way that you do, and I can't leave without hearing what you have to say. So what, we may not be in the most ideal position to date but that doesn't mean you can just discredit my, or your, feelings like that." After all, Minho still knew some things about Jinki, even if the man was a mystery. And that was, that Jinki was incredibly selfless. He sacrificed himself a lot for SHINee and their fans and the company, and Minho knew Jinki was neglecting himself and his feelings all the time, putting their group first even if Jinki had to hide behind Onew to do it. 

"Hyung, please, just be selfish this one time. I need your honesty right now. Please, just tell me." Minho was straight out begging at this point. It was almost kind of pathetic; he was acting as that persistent male lead in a k-drama that he was always type casted as, but maybe those directors were on to something. 

_Minho's right,_ Jinki thought. _My feelings are valid, too. And, he deserves to know how I feel. I should stop hiding for once and face what's in front of me._

"Minho, that song we were recording... I feel that way about you, did you know that? I feel like I'll never be able to reach you... I thought that being around you, that that would be enough for me. I didn't want to tell you how I felt, because it could ruin everything we've worked so hard to build." Jinki suddenly whispered. He could feel tears starting to pool in the corners of his eyes, the relief of suddenly letting his feelings out, mixed with his overwhelming love for Minho. 

Minho was looking at a Jinki like he had stars in his eyes; _finally,_ an answer. And it was even sweeter than Minho had imagined it to ever be.

"Hyung, I refuse to love you from afar any longer. That song, Jonghyun said he wrote it for international fans. But you're right here, and I want to reach you. You've already reached my heart." 

Jinki looked at Minho, and for the first time, finally saw the love and adoration, and even the yearning in his eyes. 

_I can't believe I've been so blind this whole time...there's no going back,_ thought Jinki. And with that thought, Jinki surged up and disconnected his hands from Minho's, softly cupping Minho's face and connecting their lips together. Minho circled his arms around Jinki's waist and kissed back just as deeply. 

_Finally,_ thought Minho. _I've finally reached you._

"OH MY GOSH!" 

Immediately, Minho and Jinki stopped kissing and whipped their heads towards the door. It made for a comical sight, two men in an embrace clutching each other like a ghost had been chasing after them.

"Finally! You're together! Jjong, Maknae, get in here, they're kissing!" Kibum had a wild look in his eyes while sporting a huge grin. _This is so long overdue!_

"Kibum! Keep it down!" Jinki was so embarrassed, he hid his face in the crook between Minho's neck and shoulder. Minho wasn't any better, seeing as him and Jinki both had matching red faces. At least Jinki could hide his face using Minho... Minho received none of that protection, instead facing the full force of Kibum's smug, smug grin. 

"Way to ruin the moment..." grumbled Minho. _I finally got to kiss Jinki-hyung and already we got interrupted...Please, tell me we won't be interrupted everyday!_

"Not my fault you didn't lock the door! I didn't think you'd actually be able to get an answer from Jinki-hyung! Nice one for that, I thought Jinki would've ran out of the dorm," mocked Kibum. Jonghyun and Taemin had entered the room and were starting to shout congratulations at Minho and Jinki, who knew that they probably wouldn't get some alone time for a while. 

"Finally, hyung, now you can stop just staring at Minho like he's a full course meal!" commented Taemin while Kibum and Jonghyun sniggered in the background. 

"What?! Taemin, I don't do that!" Jinki spluttered, at the same time Minho whipped his head towards Jinki and he wore a smirk on his face. Jinki went back to hiding. 

_This humiliation seems to be endless..._ Jinki murmured uselessly in his head, his only comfort being Minho's warm embrace.

"Anyway, we're going to bed. Good night!" Kibum announced and the three SHINee members strolled out of the room just as suddenly as they had entered. 

Minho and Jinki stayed in Jinki's room, opting to spend the night together. Also, they were too exhausted to keep moving. Everyone in SHINee was honestly too energetic to keep up with. 

"...By the way, hyung?" Minho snuggled closer to Jinki on the bed, Jinki's head on Minho's chest.

"...yeah?" Jinki was half asleep. _I've talked too much today. Time to wind down._ He thought, happily warmed up by Minho's warm body. 

"Don't sing that song anymore." Minho huffed, kissing the crown of Jinki's head. 

"Minho don't be ridiculous, we have to sing that for promotions." Jinki chuckled. Minho's personality sure was endearing at times. 

"Then sing me another song, because I've already reached you." However, Minho was adamant. 

"...ok then." Jinki didn't speak for a while after that, so Minho assumed he had fallen asleep. Until suddenly, Jinki spoke up again.

"Minho is so pretty~" 

" _HYUNG!_ " 

Minho's outraged scream was the last thing Jinki heard before falling into a peaceful slumber. 

_Thank you for reaching me._


End file.
